It’s mid-January and the resolve behind those New Year’s resolutions has dissolved, replaced by reasonable excuses. Most of these dismissive rationalizations involve time, or rather the perceived lack of it. I tried, we tell ourselves and others. I want to lose weight. But I just can’t seem to find the time to exercise. I’m unhappy at work. But I’m working so many hours I don’t have time to look for another job. Writers tap into our natural ability to create very persuasive rationalizations to let ourselves off the hook. Every book written on writing advises us to get into the
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The fashion-defying old boots I wore for warmth self-destructed on my 62nd birthday. Flakes of crumbling faux leather I left behind lately whenever I zipped my feet into the comfort of weatherproof Totes with fleece lining left clues on my kitchen floor that I ignored. Much like the skin sags of age under my eyes and chin reflected in the mirror every morning. I covered the wrinkles with makeup, pulled my pant legs over the boot tops, and went out to shop for the officially senior me. I looked at boots on display and considered replacing those I’d bought a
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“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.” -Stephen King, in Writer’s Digest Sorry, Stephen. I love your stories. But I’ve never had this problem. There’s no fat in my stories to cut in rewrite. They’re lean, mean, and starved for more words. I am a natural born editor. When I sit down, stare at the cursor on the monitor and plunk my
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Crime novelist extraordinaire Mickey Spillane said it best. The first page sells the book. The last page sells the next book. Finesse the six elements of fiction – character, plot, setting, point of view, theme and style – and you’ll hook readers into turning those pages through lunch hours, during commutes and into the wee hours of the morning. Element #1 – Character Want to grab and hold your readers’ attention? Create strong characters to drive the story along the road map of conflict that you, the author, draw for them. Strategically placed small details can reveal a lot about
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The cozy mystery I’d just finished reading reminded me of characters in “Moonlighting,” a TV series in the 1980s about an out-of-work model who brings in a partner to a detective agency she owns. My newbie private investigators, unlucky-in-love and mutually-vowed ‘friends-only’ Eddie Emerson and Kelly Gillespie, would set up shop in a north Chicago suburb to help clients avoid heartbreak. I envisioned a book series of deep dives into lovers’ and potential marital mates’ backgrounds with a touch of humor, surprising plot twists, and sometimes happily-ever-after results. Their first client would be a senior partner at a high-profile law
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Save the date, stop by, and say hello! I love swapping loving-the-books stories with readers! Writers on the Avenue Second Saturday August 12th from 5-8 PM Iowa & Second Streets, downtown Muscatine, Iowa Clinton Book Festival Saturday, August 26 from 10 AM-4 PM Clinton Community College 1000 Lincoln Blvd. in Clinton, IA Author Support Q&A – 2:30 PM FYI: I’ll be on this panel with author Craig Hart and publisher/authors Kim Sigafus and John LaBella Authors draw on their own experiences to answer questions regarding writing and publishing and that happens behind the scenes for authors.  
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